Man on highway charged in theft
SCRANTON - A man Dunmore police found passed out on the O'Neill Highway on Thursday ended up being the man Scranton police believe burglarized a city home.
Police took Erin Valdez, 39, no address listed, to Geisinger Community Medical Center. They linked him to a break-in the previous night at 1355 N. Main Ave. when they found two prescription pill bottles on him and contacted the address on the bottle.
The man whose address was listed on the bottles had reported that someone broke into his 1355 N. Main Ave. home and stole prescriptions, jewelry and foreign currency the night before, police said.
Mr. Valdez was charged with burglary of an occupied structure, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property.
He is in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 25.